Re: ago(interval) → timestamptz
Andreas Karlsson <andreas@proxel.se>
From: Andreas Karlsson <andreas@proxel.se>
To: Laurenz Albe <laurenz.albe@cybertec.at>,
Florents Tselai <florents.tselai@gmail.com>
Cc: pgsql-hackers <pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org>
Date: 2025-11-08T08:09:55Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
On 11/6/25 3:54 PM, Laurenz Albe wrote: > On Thu, 2025-11-06 at 12:15 +0100, Florents Tselai wrote: >>> I don't get what users would need ago(interval) -> timestamp. That function would >>> not make any sense since there is no equivalent to now() which returns timestamp, >>> simply because a timestamp does not refer to any specific point in time and can >>> only be interpreted with some additional piece of information like a time zone. >> >> I agree that only a timestamptz variant makes sense. > > Lots of people model absolute time using "timestamp without time zone" with the > silent assumption that all such timestamps are UTC timestamps. That would be > the additional piece of information. > > But I admit that that makes date arithmetic less useful. > > There is an equivalent for "now()": localtimestamp Oh, did not know of that function but using timestamp like this is dangerous and a bad idea. Let's not make life easier for people who misuse data types. The localtimestamp function should not have been introduced in the first place. Andreas